The use of natural smoke flavorings as a substitute for vaporous smoking is steadily increasing throughout the meat and food industry. Aqueous smoke flavorings offer the meat processors several advantages, e.g., reduced effluent from smokehouses, a more uniformly flavored product, and elimination of smoke tar carcinogens that may be present in unrefined, vaporous smoke. Several methods for producing these smoke flavorings are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,106,473; 3,806,609; 3,873,741 and 3,875,314. These liquid smoke solutions may be applied to meat or food products in one of the following methods: (1) direct addition to meat emulsions or food products, (2) spraying the product with, or dipping it in, the liquid smoke, or (3) vaporizing or atomizing the liquid smoke and exposing the food or meat product to the smoky vapors or smoke aerosol produced.
Several problems arise when the previously available liquid smoke flavorings are used internally in cured meat products. Those smoke flavorings are only partially soluble in salt brines or pickling solutions and, as a result, they form polymeric solids which can clog pumping needles and cause dark specs within the cured meat product.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,112,133 discloses an aqueous smoke flavoring produced by admixing a natural liquid smoke solution with an acidulating agent and a solubilizing agent. It is stated that the tendency for solids to form in and settle from the solution is eliminated. The product has been found not to form undesirable solids in brines. However, the product, as well as other availabe smoke flavorings, will react with sodium nitrite in the brine solutions or pumping pickles, thus causing a loss of nitrite and evolution of hazardous nitrogen oxides gas before the curing brine can be pumped into the meat product.
Several modified liquid smoke flavorings have been previously developed for addition to curing brines. Chomiak and Okiewicz, Food Science and Technology Abstracts (F.S.T.A.) 9:9S 1741 (1977) disclose the addition of gelatin to the smoke solution to improve its stability in brine. Modic et al, F.S.T.A. 10:2S 208 (1978) and Prihavec and Polic, F.S.T.A. 10:2S 214 (1978) disclose a product Etol 8027 useful in brine. Etol 8027 is a smoke concentrate which uses salt as a carrier for the concentrate. These smoke solutions, however, contain substantial amounts of the organic acids, normally present in wood smoke, which lead to loss of nitrite from brine. By eliminating the acid fraction of the liquid smoke flavoring, premature loss of nitrite can be significantly reduced. By partial neutralization of the acids in liquid smoke with alkali, losses of nitrites can be reduced. However, when the pH of the liquid smoke is raised above 5.0, with alkali, the smoke flavor components are altered and the resulting flavor is objectionable.
A low acid smoke flavoring can be produced by extracting the choice smoke flavor components into an edible oil as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,480,446. This smoke flavored edible oil has an excellent quality of smoke flavor with negligible acid content. However, it is not soluble in brine curing solutions and therefore it can not be pumped easily into cured meat products with a pumping pickle.